Church as Family? Part 2
We are people who have found peace, hope and joy in Jesus.
We are here to love and serve, not to judge or condemn.
If you want to know more, please ask!
When talk is cheap, our sermon is hospitality.
Welcome to our home.
—Bread Coffeehouse
Last week I wrote about my maternal family’s church, the Finnish Lutheran Apolstolic Church of New York Mills, Minnesota. I described how hard it can be for an immigrant church in a small town to be open to “outsiders.” Churches serve so many different functions for people, depending on their contexts. For my Finnish ancestors, who were viewed with suspicion and hostility by their native born neighbors, having a place in their new country where they could speak their language and preserve their cultural traditions was critical to their survival. Their church emphasized safety, security, and survival.
In contrast, I would argue that churches like St. Andrew’s in 2024 should emphasize hospitality, reaching out to strangers, and tolerance of differences. Why is this so important? Because the challenges of our modern culture are isolation, loneliness, and tribalism. The “mission field” of our time and place are isolated people who yearn for meaningful relationships and discouraged people who sincerely want to believe it’s possible to make a difference in the world. In this context, a church that reflects Christian love would be a place where anyone could drop in and be met by engaging greeters who put them at ease and make them feel welcome, activities that they could easily become a part of, and low pressure invitations to join in a variety of missions and ministries.
Here is an example of what that kind of a community feels like to the new person: My daughter Grace moved to Atlanta in the middle of the pandemic to go to college. For the first year, she was isolated in her dorm and only attended class on zoom. When the restrictions were lifted, Grace found herself without any friends and she had lost the courage and the will to reach out and make new ones. It was a low point in her life and I wasn’t sure she was going to bounce back—until she discovered Bread Coffeehouse. Bread Coffeehouse is a Christian community on her college campus. She was invited to attend their Wednesday Night Dinner and Discussion by a girl in her class. She almost did not go because she was so afraid of not fitting in. At the last minute, she decided she would do it, but she went with a lot of reservations. Excuses in hand, the minute she felt awkward she was ready to head for the door. But from the moment she walked in, she was met with easy hospitality. Everything was explained to her from the order of the evening, to the discussion topic, to how to line up to get food. She was introduced around. People made space for her at the table and asked her about herself. The discussion was meaningful and differences of opinion did not dampen the fellowship. She walked away having made friends and she couldn’t wait to go back. They did service projects, she signed up to cook dinners and served in their food pantry. She attended Bible studies and found she didn’t hate it (she was never fond of her youth group). The picture above is painted on the wall of Bread Coffeehouse. It describes the spirit behind their welcome. In her darkest hour, Christ was there for her in the form of a friendly invitation.
So now my point comes full circle. Bread Coffeehouse became like home for Grace. The Church cannot help but become a circle of very meaningful relationships. So the question was never really whether church is family or not; the question that we should ask ourselves is how willing are we to reach out beyond the familiar and do the intentional work of making sure everyone is included, welcomed, and equally loved in that family.
Blessings,
Pastor Jen
|